One More Thing
by Vix of TARDIS
Summary: There's one more thing the Doctor can do to make things right. Companion piece to Every night I look up at the stars.


Loneliness. Dark, cold, silent loneliness. The TARDIS is empty now,  
save for one. The Doctor, slowly, as if physically in pain,  
half-heartedly sets a course for somewhere, anywhere, far away from here  
and now. It's always like this. Part of the job, really. At least  
it's likely that he'll see some of them again -- though it's never going  
to be the same. Jack, Martha, Sarah...Mickey. He regrets he hadn't  
given that young man his due a lot earlier. Mickey deserved better, but  
there's not much he can do about that now. Besides, they'll all do fine  
without him, like they've always done.

Saving worlds always comes at a cost, but this time, more than ever, he  
wonders sadly if it was worth it. Perhaps it was, but somehow this time  
hurts more than anything. So much more was lost.

The Doctor misses Rose, of course, but he knows without a doubt, that  
leaving her was for the best. Surely Rose will grieve for awhile, but  
through it all, the Doctor will be with her, even though he won't.

A sad smile crosses his face. He knows his human counterpart won't  
allow Rose to mourn for long, and they'll become part of one another,  
even more than she was a part of himself. Yes. He'd done right by  
Rose. He feels confident of that, and he will move forward -- he must.

But then, he thinks of Donna Noble. The most important woman in the  
universe. The super temp from Chiswick, who only wanted to travel with  
him forever, and who had no idea how brilliant she was -- and probably  
will never know. A cherished friend, for whom he'd go to the ends of  
the universe if that was what she wanted, though he hadn't told her  
that, and now he never can.

His eyes squeeze shut, and the tears he was holding back now flow freely  
down his cheeks. For a moment, he completely breaks down, his entire  
being washed in grief. Then, suddenly, it hits him. There is one more  
thing he can do to make things right. Eyes open wide, he changes  
course, desperately homing in on a whim. Desperately seeking...if it  
takes all the time he's got left, he will do this for her.

In an unassuming time and place, an unassuming man tries to pick up the  
pieces of his life. So much was lost to him -- too many years had gone  
by, and even his one chance at happiness turned out to be an illusion,  
or so he thought, until he'd spotted her at the library on that  
wonderful, horrible day. He tried to call out to her, but his stammer  
got in the way. He's lived with that regret for far too long now. He's  
had quite enough, and has the end all planned. But plans can change.  
He nearly passes out at the sight of an old style police box just  
appearing in the street, nearly knocking him over as he scrambles out of  
the way.

After the initial shock, the man is really starting to enjoy being  
abducted by aliens. Only one alien, though, and not much of one, at  
that. He looks so much like a tall, skinny kid taking his dad's vehicle  
out on a joyride...but this was one hell of a vehicle. "Bigger on the  
inside!" he said, and that was no lie! Though "John Smith" probably  
was, but somehow, that didn't matter. Oh, the questions he'd ask, if  
only...

"So...Lee, is it?" The Doctor asks, knowing full well he'd got it  
right, but wanting to put him more at ease.

"Y-Y-Yeah. L-L-L-Lee...M-M-McAvoy." Lee wants to ask the Doctor who he  
is, why he's come and where they're going, but all he can say is,  
"H-H-H-How?"

The Doctor explains quickly, telling Lee as much about how the TARDIS  
works as he can in as little time as possible, in terms that a Time Lord  
child might understand, yet still too complicated for the average human.  
Even so, Lee continues to meet the Doctor's gaze evenly, and only seems  
a little taken aback when the Doctor finally says, "Do you remember  
Donna Noble?"

The Doctor is sad to leave, though he knows he has to. He's told Lee  
everything he'll need to find Donna, carefully warning him never to  
mention how exactly he'd got there. Truth be told, even if Lee had  
wanted to tell her, his stammer would render any explanation  
unintelligible to anyone without the right frame of reference. Donna  


will be safe and happy. The Doctor is sure of it. Satisfied he's done  
everything possible for Donna, he says a silent goodbye and moves on.

In the local library, Donna Noble searches for books on how to find Mr.  
Right. It's not her usual thing, the library, but for some reason, she  
feels compelled to go. As she prepares to check out her stack of books,  
she bumps right into a man, who is also carrying quite a healthy stack  
of books. "Oi! Watch where you're going with those!" Donna shouts, as  
both stacks go scattering to the floor. "S-S-S-S- Sorry!" Lee says,  
flustered and blushing, clumsily trying to pick up the books. "Oh, hold  
on a minute! Let me get some of those!" Donna says, looking at him for  
the first time, and rather liking what she sees, introduces herself.  
"I'm Donna Noble! Why don't we pop off for a coffee after this, my  
treat...you know, to make up for this mess!" Lee smiles, and follows  
her out.


End file.
